Ten Ichigo and Rukia Short Shorts
by Saij Spellhart
Summary: Follow Ichigo's crappy proposal, and laugh as their children reap hell on Byakuya. There will be heart felt confessions, and painful human tragedy. Lots of IchigoxRukia. Romancing a Death God is never easy. More one shots to come.
1. Proposal

**A soon to be collection of Ichigo and Rukia oneshots. **

**Summary: Ichigo is planning the perfect evening to propose to his Soul Reaper best friend. But everything goes wrong, one thing right after the other. He's beginning to accept that romance was never them. **

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><p>Everything Different, But the Same.<p>

They'd been friends for years. And yet, it was as if they'd known each other for a life time. She'd given him the powers of a Death God, He infiltrated the afterlife, and rescued her from an execution. They fought wars together, and she even watched over him when he'd lost his powers.

And now, Ichigo was twenty-one attending college, living in his own apartment. He worked a part time job while he attended school. Ichigo managed payments on his own car and even had a motorcycle in the garage. The bike needed a bit of fixing, and few new parts, but he could call it his own. Occasionally he went to the Soul Society to attend meetings, and keep himself sharp. He also patrolled his neighborhood, sending lost souls over to the afterlife and purging hollows.

And even though his life was different now, and so much had changed, one thing seemed to stay the same. And he loved it.

"Ichigo! Hey ICHIGO!"

_That's right.._ She was still as short as ever. He didn't think she'd ever have another growth spurt. And there she was yelling at him, annoyed that he was ignoring her, keeping his nose in his book. Except, he wasn't actually ignoring her. He never did admit, that even when he was busy, his attention always seemed to wander in her direction.

_WHACK!_

Ichigo felt the book he had been reading connect with the side of his head. Rukia had taken it from his hands and struck him with it. The fact that he really hadn't noticed her snatch his book away should have been proof that he wasn't actually reading it. But she never seemed to notice. She never noticed the way he watched her, or the way he tensed when other guys got near her. When they watched movies together and Rukia cuddled up against him, it seemed to go unnoticed that his body would stiffen up, including other areas.

More often than not, he caught himself appreciating her body, even going as far as to catch a glimpse of her cleavage. And then there were their talks, Ichigo could pick her brain for hours on end. Followed by the way she laughed, her smile, the way she walked, their little wrestling matches. His list could go on.

_Rukia, how long has it been?_

"HEY! Get your head out of your ass!" Rukia reached over and grabbed a fistful of his hair.

A grin played on Ichigo's lips and he finally looked up at her. "What's got your panties in a bunch?"

She shot him a death glare before releasing his orange locks. "If you'd just listen to me, I said I was going to the store. We don't have any drinks."

"Its not like you need my permission for something like that, midget." He poked her in the forehead before snatching his forgotten book up. But Rukia spoke before he could resume pretending to ignore her.

"I was wondering if there was anything specific you wanted me to get." The sentence came off as a grumble, and despite her obvious irritation, Ichigo thought it was rather adorable.

"Yeah, pick me up some raspberry tea." His nose had already resumed its spot in the book he was reading. He heard Rukia snarl something nasty under her breath before stomping to the front door and subsequently slamming it.

As soon as she was gone he dropped his book and jumped up. He wasted no time getting to her closet and pulling all the blankets and mattresses out. It took a little more effort than he expected to hide them all under his bed, but with that finished he made his way to the kitchen.

Neither roommate had eaten dinner yet, and usually Rukia would make something. Ichigo wasn't one to be particularly talented in the culinary arts. The midget wasn't real talented either but atleast what she made was edible. Tonight though, would be different. Ichigo had come prepared. He took a moment to rummage to the bottom of their freezer where he retrieved the two most expensive and high quality TV dinner sold in stores. He peeled off the packaging, dumped the contents into oven-safe dishes and tossed both meals in the oven to bake.

Next he drew a hot bath, filled it with lavender scented bubble bath, and tossed in a handful of rubber rabbit toys that he acquired at a local dollar store. Following this, he began to litter the ground from the bathroom to the front door with a trail of sakura petals. Said petals he had pilfered himself from Byakuya's own garden. Back in the bathroom, he helped set the mood by littering the counter tops with various sized candles, and tea lights.

He took a moment to step back and appreciate his work, with a satisfied nod, Ichigo checked his watch. Fifteen minutes had passed, Rukia would be back within the next ten minutes. He absently fingered the box in his pocket, his calloused fingers brushing gently over the worn velvet. More often then not, he caught himself rubbing the velvet of this box, but it had never been the right time.

_Rukia... How long has it been?_

The orange-haired young man quickly made his way into the main room, and clicked on the stereo and surround sound. Ichigo slipped a CD into the player and pressed play, immediately the room was filled with the sound romantic music. He made sure the volume was adjusted to a low level. Loud enough to hear but quiet enough that he could speak softly and still be heard.

Next he opened the coat closet and extracted a few plain looking cardboard boxes. They were small and unassuming. If Rukia had peeked into this closet at all in the past week she wouldn't have thought anything of the shabby brown boxes. He placed them conspicuously on the table with a card on top. Bold bright orange letters spelled his roommate's name across the front, and he was sure she wouldn't miss it.

Satisfied that he had accomplished everything he had set out to, he hurried into the kitchen and checked on the food. A peek in the oven informed him that it was all coming along nicely. _Good._ He quickly set the table with plates and silverware. And he was just finishing when he heard the unmistakable sound of the front door opening. Ichigo felt his heart skip a beat, _It's time. _He wasted no time escaping into the hall and shutting himself in the bedroom, locking the door so that he wouldn't be disturbed. But he pressed his ear carefully against the door so he could still hear Rukia's reactions.

_Tmp tmp tmp_~ It was the sound of her feet against the hard wood floor. She was in the living room now, he could tell be the feel of her spiritual pressure. There was silence, then a bit of rustling. This was quickly followed by the an unadulterated squeal of delight. Ichigo had a hard time fighting the smile that was crawling across his face. "Are these from Nii-sama?" Her voice was easily heard. A question resonating down the hall.

"The fuck?" The orange-head clapped his hand against his face. "Why the hell would she think they were from her brother?" he grumbled under his breath. Despite his irritation he continued to listen for his midget roommate. Next he heard her enter the bathroom, there was another cry of happiness, then followed by some rustling, and then a loud collection of splashes.

_She found the bubble bath!_ At that he pulled away from the door and began changing into a pair of black slacks, he fastened an old leather belt around his waist to keep them tight. Then he slipped off his usual T-shirt, and pulled on a slate-blue button-down shirt. Ichigo checked his appearance in the mirror for a moment, and grimaced at the formality of it. His fingers quickly reached up and un-fastened the first three buttons until he could easily make out his own collar bones. He gave himself a nod of satisfaction after that.

Ichgio had barely finished changing when all of a sudden he heard a blood-curdling scream erupt from the bathroom. It made all the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He dashed towards the bedroom door and practically threw himself against it before remembering he'd locked it. It took longer than he'd have liked to get the damned lock undone, but afterward he charged down the hall, and into the bathroom without a second thought.

"Rukia! What's wrong?! What happened?!" Ichigo came to a halt next to the bath tub, and was barely able to keep from slipping in a puddle of water.

"Spider! There's a huge spider!" The short, black-haired woman who had previously been relaxing in the bath tub was now frantically clamoring about and took advantage of Ichigo's sudden presence. Before the man could protest she grabbed handfuls of his dress shirt and climbed into his arms and subsequently upon his shoulders as well. Her goal was obviously to get as far away from the spider as possible via the orange-head in front of her.

He saw the helpless and very wet arachnid. It was just as frightened and she was and trying desperately to climb the slick wall of the shower. But it's hairy little legs slipped on the surface with each attempt. He felt a little bad bringing a wad of toilet paper upon it, squishing it. But Rukia seemed to finally calm down when it was safely flushed down the toilet.

In the end Ichigo found himself standing int he middle of the bathroom, with a naked woman clinging to him, and all his nice clothes drenched with soapy water and completely ruined.

As soon as the fear of the spider evaporated Rukia jumped off of Ichigo and snagged a towel hanging nearby to hide her nakedness. Her face had blushed a bright shade of crimson in the process. She sent a fist flying into his stomach, and began yelling at him to get out of the bathroom, and also not to look at her.

Despite the pain in his midsection Ichigo managed to hobble out of the bathroom, and practically got the door slammed in his face. "You're welcome!" He grouched at the door. When he didn't receive a response he left for the laundry room. "Damn shirt only lasted 3 minutes, if that." muttered the orange-head under his breath. He absently pulled off the ruined button down, and tossed it in a laundry hamper. Then he grabbed a clean towel off the dryer and and mopped up the rest of the water that had gotten in his hair, on his face and all over his chest and shoulders.

"I-Ichigo?" Despite the fiasco just moments before, the sound of her soft voice caused him to turn and look at her. She sounded unsure, and almost apologetic. He noticed she was now wrapped in a soft robe, and even adorned a cute pair of bunny slippers. She was playing nervously with the belt on the robe, and very slowly looked up to take in his half-naked form. Slowly the look of subtle sorrow dissolved from her features and was quickly replaced with shock, and bright pink cheeks. "What the hell are you doing?! Where's your shirt?" She turned and walked out of the room as quickly as she entered. "And what's that awful smell?! Are you burning something?"

"SHIT!" Ichigo let out a shout of alarm, and barreled past Rukia and into the kitchen. Shoving his hands in the hot-mittens, he juggled with the food pulling it from the oven and placing it on the counter. "God damn it all." He looked hopelessly at what would have been their dinner, except that it was very burnt, and rather crusty-looking now. Rukia, had the worst timing as she poked her head around his shoulder to see what was what.

"That looks nasty~" She teased, and poked him in the side.

That one single poke felt like a knife as it burst what was left of his self-esteem. All the excitement he'd built up from earlier finally rushed out of him, and he felt his shoulders slump like a deflated balloon. Half-hearted, he reached up and switched the oven off. He shoved his hands into his pockets, and the fingers of his right hand curled around the familiar worn velvet box.

"Ichigo?" Rukia, looked at her long-time friend, and realized something was wrong.

"AAARRGH!" The orange-haired man let out a cry of frustration, and swept his arm across the counter, knocking the burnt dinners onto the floor. Rukia jumped back just in time, and the blackened food missed her bunny feet by mere seconds. Then Ichigo grabbed something from his pocket and hurled it at the wall. the black object made a startling _THWACK!_ before it ricocheted, and bounced along the kitchen floor.

Ichigo's anger had finally gotten the better of him as he stormed out of the room and disappeared down the hall towards their bedroom. Rukia was left all by herself a little frightened, she wondered what had caused him to get so angry.

Back in the bedroom Ichigo was curled up on his bed hiding under a dark blue blanket. He was so angry he was practically seething. Everything that could have gone wrong, had gone wrong. First she'd misinterpreted his gifts as gifts from her brother. _The hell?_ then the bubble bath meant to soften her mood, and only succeeded in causing more animosity. Lastly dinner was ruined, and the significance of tonight seemed absolutely lost on Rukia.

"Why do I even bother?" He sulked.

A few minutes later, her heard Rukia's soft foot steps as she entered their bedroom. She didn't speak and he was silently grateful. He didn't know if he would be able to stomach anymore of her teasing at this point. He figured she would retreat to her closet like normal but instead he felt the bed depress next to his back as she sat down. The next few moments were filled with silence, and it was almost painful.

"Yes." Her voice was a whisper, but it was firm, and sure.

"What?" The orange-head pulled the blanket back and looked over his shoulder at her. She was bent over staring intently at an object in her hands.

"You heard me, idiot." Usually such phrases would be followed by playful punches to his side, but this time was different.

Ichigo sat up quite confused and peered over her shoulder to see what she was holding. He was surprised and embarrassed to see her running her fingers over the small velvet box that had previously inhabited his pocket for the last five months.

"This... It's an engagement ring is it not?" She opened the box and they both gazed upon the beautiful gold and silver ring. The design was a gold band with two silver bunnies holding a small round diamond between them. One bunny had a slight scowl etched on its face, and the other a cute expression.

Ichigo turned away and tried to hide the embarrassed blush that crept over his face. "Y-yeah," he mumbled. "I guess... yeah."

"How long have you had this?" Her tone was not teasing, or mocking, but pure curiosity.

"Awhile." Came the simple response. _Rukia... How long has it been since I fell in love with you?_

"So tonight...?"

"Yeah..." Ichigo finally sat up and looked at her from the corner of his eyes, the soft amber color slightly darker than usual. He fought with himself for several long minutes before begrudgingly voicing the words he'd been trying to say for the past five months. "Rukia... Will you marry me?"

He waited patiently and nervously for her to answer, but when no response came, he leaned over to get a look at her face. A single silver tear slipped over a cream colored cheek, down to her chin, and silently dripped onto the velvet box.

Fin.

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><p><strong>This was my first one shot, short story. Please tell me what you think. Good? Bad? And also I'm accepting prompts and ideas for the future Short Shorts. So please feel free to suggest! <strong>


	2. Baby Sitting

**Here I am again, Saij Spellhart, and I'm presenting my second installment to my one-shot collection. This one takes place farther in Ichigo and Rukia's relationship, and is meant to give a peek at how they handle parenthood, and what their kids might be like. **

**Warning! this chapter contains a LOT of Byakuya. But hey, we love him.**

**Summary: Byakuya willingly volunteers to babysit Ichigo and Rukia's kids while Rukia is away on a mission. Ichigo is not about to let Byakuya watch his kids alone, and so the substitute accompanies the noble for the next 2 days.**

**Title: Baby Sitting**

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><p>"WHAT!?" exclaimed Ichigo. "NO! No way!" He held up his arms in front of him forming an X.<p>

"It's just for two days Ichigo." Rukia fixed her obnoxious husband with an exasperated look.

"And what's so wrong with me looking after them?" His question was almost interrogating.

"Nothing is wrong, they just tend to be a handful for you. And Nii-sama offered." She finished packing a few things into her travel satchel. "Besides, it'd be rude if I declined."

"So what? Byakuya's always rude, that's no excuse." The orange-maned soul reaper frowned and ran his fingers through his hair. He absently watched Rukia pack, and opened his mouth a few times to say something, but closed it again, deciding not to protest. His wife deserved a break after all.

Rukia had been "assigned" a so-called "mission" But since it was handed down from the Soul Reaper Women's Association, he really doubted it involved anything crucial. It was likely a trip to a hot spring, or a spa, or some other girly trip. Several other lady reapers were attending this mission after all.

"Your brother hasn't even seen them since they were born." Grumbled Ichigo one last time.

"All the more reason for him to babysit them this weekend." Rukia shot him a glare of finality over her luggage. "If you are so worried you can go stay at my brother's place and help keep an eye on them."

"Fine..." Ichigo threw his head back and groaned.

0000

Ichigo arrived in the seireieti, his shoulders laden with luggage and holding the hands of two toddlers. They children laughed loudly and squealed at the sights before them. As powerful and he was, it was a herculean effort to keep the two kids in check. They constantly tugged on his arms like a pair of sled dogs.

Right on time, a tall figure approached them. He was dressed in formal robes, and it was quite a sight. Ichigo had been so used to seeing the great and mighty Byakuya Kuchiki in his standard Soul Reaper Captain garb, that seeing him in robes (even if they were nobility robes) was a complete contrast.

The head of the kuchiki clan stopped a fair distance from the orange-haired substitute and the little toddlers squealing on either side of him.

"Ichigo." Byakuya acknowledged his presence with a nod.

"Byakuya." Ichigo returned the cold greeting.

"I've arranged for transportation to the Kuchiki estate." Informed Byakuya, his tone cold, and unwelcoming. He motioned toward a wagon drawn by one of the kuchiki servants. A small pink-haired reaper was also sitting in the wagon, and she waved frantically at Ichigo.

"Hi-eee! Ichi!"

Ichigo would have waved back, but his hands were full. Instead he nodded, and returned her greeting.

Byakuya motioned for Ichigo to move the luggage to the wagon. He also motioned for the children to also sit in the wagon. The kids were more than happy to comply, and squealed with delight over the wagon ride.

"Is there any transportation for us?" Inquired the substitute reaper.

"I believe we are more than capable of walking." Snipped Byakuya.

Ichigo was about to open his mouth and make a snide remark, but he bit his tongue, remembering his wife's warning about being polite to her brother.

"What are the names of the little ones?" For the first time Byakuya showed interest in something, and it caught Ichigo off guard. Both men followed up behind the wagon so they could keep an eye on the squirming youngsters, and an equally squirming lieutenant.

Ichigo scratched his head. The two children were twins, one a boy with violet eyes and the other a girl with amber eyes. They were both two and a half years old, his son didn't talk well but his daughter was a chatter box. "Well the boy's name is Ryoji and we named the girl Zakura." Ichigo's mouth formed a straight line.

"Zakura?" Byakuya raised an eyebrow and the substitute reaper.

"Yeah... Rukia's got a lot of respect for you. She wanted at least one of the kids to have a name with a connection to you." Ichigo kinda grumbled the last part.

"I see." Byakuya seemed scrutinize the two screaming toddlers before him. "I… see they did not inherit Rukia's hair."

Ichigo also looked over at his children. Ryoji was busy pulling his sister's hair, while Yachiru smacked him on the head repeatedly. Eventually the twins began screaming, and crying; Ichigo just rolled his eyes and sighed.

"They appear to take after your personality as well." remarked Byakuya, there was a slight hint of disgust in his voice as he watched the unruly children before them.

"Hey! What is that supposed to mean?" Snarled the orange-haired reaper.

"Nothing of consequence."

"Yeah, whatever." Ichigo mutters under his breath. He hasn't even been in Byakuya's presence an hour and already he wants to throttle the noble.

Suddenly the kids began screaming louder. Ichigo turned his attention back to his children who were now biting each other, and Yachiru. This was quickly followed by kicks, and fists, and other nasty actions. The substitute soul reaper hurried over to the twins and scooped his daughter up in one arm, and his son in the other.

"Guys, knock it off," their father scolded. "Cool it."

Byakuya watched silently as the screaming children calmed down in their father's arms. Perhaps this human _boy_ could be responsible after all.

0000

They had just reached the gates of the Kuchiki estate, and everyone in their party was relieved that their little trip had come to an end. Kuchiki servants rushed out and collected the luggage and even the children before carrying them into the house.

"Hey where do they think they are going with my kids." demanded Ichigo, he pointed to the front of the mansion where the servants had disappeared.

"The human toddlers will be washed and properly clothed. I will not have them running amok in my house with grubby fingers and clothes." Byakuya shot the ryoka boy with a matter-of-fact look. As if this were obvious.

Ichigo shot Byakuya a glare. "Don't expect me to get all preppy for your benefit. It ain't happen'n."

Byakuya did not seem affected by the substitute's rude words. "That's nothing of consequence, we don't keep clothes for commoners on this estate anyway." He left Ichigo to stand there and gape at him in absolute fury. "By the way, I am quite capable of watching these children on my own, your presence was not required." He fixed the orange-haired boy with a look of contempt.

"Che," scoffed Ichigo in response. "Like I would let _you _be alone with_ my_ children. The man who threatened to execute _his own sister_."

An uneasy silence settled between the two males.

It wasn't until a bit later that Ichigo finally settled in. He had been given a guest room to stay in during his two night stay. He mentioned just staying in Rukia's room to Byakuya, but the noble had answered him with a short and contrite "no." and had made preparations for a guest room.

A servant came by to fetch the substitute reaper not long after he had put away his luggage. "Lord Kuchiki requests your presence in the tea room. The children have been properly washed and clothed to suit their nobility status." The servant bowed before taking his leave.

Ichigo just stared after him for awhile before mumbling to himself. "Nobility status?" He shook his head and decided to ask Byakuya about it in a bit. It took longer than he would have liked, but Ichigo finally made it into the tea room. As expected the dark-haired nobleman fixed him with a look that said, "you are late." Ichgio ignored this and sat down on a cushion and began to pour himself a cup of tea.

"So where are my kids?" He looked around but didn't seem them anywhere,

Byakuya motioned to a servant near the door way, and said servant nodded and pushed a sliding door aside. The open door revealed a very worn out looking woman, who was trying desperately to make two orange-maned toddlers stand still.

Ichigo was taken back by the compete 180 his children had gone through. Their usually messy orange hair was now combed and parted. His son, Ryoji, was wearing two kenseiken in his hair, and a formal dark blue robe with a silver sash. The blue robe had little silver stars embroidered on the bottom left corner and on the long sleeves. His daughter, Zakura, was dressed in a matching set of robes but hers were purple with lovely pink flowers embroidering it. Her hair was much the same length as her brother's, but someone had pulled it back into a short pony tail on the top of her head, and there was a cute butterfly pin in it.

"Wow, they almost look decent, I'm impressed Byakuya."

"It's a simple task, something any responsible parent could accomplish."

"Your expectations of me and Rukia are astounding."

Neither male noticed the female servant who cast an irritated look at Byakya for his bold statement. She did however release the children and took her leave. She was not about to witness the crisis unfold in the tea room now that _those_ little devils had been released.

"DADDY!" two squealing children toddled across the hard wood floor and threw themselves into their father's lap. Ichigo looked down at them with a tender look in his eyes, and stroked the top of his son's head while wrapping his other arm around his daughter in a half hug.

"How often will the children need their under garments changed?" Byakuya's question interrupted the happy family moment.

The orange-head looked up and fixed the nobleman with a confused look. "Oh well, we won't need to. They took after me and potty-trained pretty early, so they'll tell you if they gotta go." He shot Byakuya a grin that showed he was proud of himself and his kids.

"I suppose even a human has to have something they can be proud of." The Kuchiki lord didn't even look at Ichigo, he simply picked up his cup of tea and took a slow, lazy sip.

Kurosaki ignored Byakuya once again. He had promised Rukia he would be good, he wasn't about to cause strife over such snide remarks. "Hey guys, do you know who this is?" He turned the kids attention towards the stoic noble. "This is your uncle. Go on, say hello and tell him your names."

"Hiii!" Byakuya was suddenly crowded by two very loud twins. They immediately crawled over on his lap and took fistfuls of his formal robes. "I'm thwee!" they chorused together.

Ichigo gave a chuckle. "They aren't three yet, but they are excited to be turning three soon.

Byakuya nodded before looking down at the little girl, she was tugging the front of his robe incessantly. "Yes?"

"I'm Zak-rah!" She announced with pride, she even scooted a little further up his lap.

The little boy was next and he saw Byakuya turn expectantly toward him. "I Riijee!" He slapped his palm against his uncle forcefully as if to make his point.

"What your name?" asked Zakura. She looked up at the dark-haired man with her large amber colored eyes.

"I am Lord Byakuya Kuchiki. I am the elder brother of your mother. That would make me your uncle."

"Bakya?" Asked the little girl.

"Byakuya-sama, is the proper form of address in this house." He corrected.

Ichigo let out a sigh of irritation.

"Bakya-sama?" She asked again.

He nodded, and looked over at Ryoji, also expecting the boy to address him properly.

Ryoji just lifted his palm and smacked Byakuya on the chest again. "Baka!"

"Byakuya-sama." corrected his uncle.

"Baka-sama!" squealed the child, he began smacking repeatedly.

The soul reaper noble raised his hand to grab the child's flailing hand, but it only caused both children to squeal and and roll off his lap. They tumbled into the table and caused his tea to upend, it's contents spilling across the table.

Byakuya shot Ichigo a look as if the children's behavior were his fault. Ichigo just shrugged, and grinned behind his tea cup, taking a sip.

000

Later that day Byakuya found himself in the calligraphy room with the two little twins. They were excited at the prospect of art time, and like they usually did, ran around screaming and rabble rousing. The nobleman tried his hardest to ignore them, and simply prepared his ink pot and stack of parchment. He ended up re-stacking the paper three times before he could begin. The children seemed hell bent on snatching pieces of parchment.

Finally he was able to get them to settle down and watch him work. The twins scooted close and waited with eager expressions. They watched their uncle dip his feather pen into the ink pot and place it ever so slightly against the paper. With careful and precise hand strokes he made a beautiful japanese character.

"This is flower." He informed them.

"Wabbit!" They squealed. "dwaw a wabbit!" They snatched a new piece of parchment and placed it over his first piece before the ink could even finish drying. Byakuya calmly placed the ruined pieces of paper aside and grabbed a clean piece. He dipped his pen again, and began drawing a new character. When he was finished he moved his hand away so the children could see.

"This one is rabbit." He informed them.

The twins looked at it for a moment before scrunching up their noses. "NOO!" Ryoji grabbed at the pen while Zakura just grabbed a new piece of paper. She pointed at the new piece, and shouted at Byakuya. "Bakya-sama, make a wabbit!"

Byakuya just fixed the children with a confused look. He hesitated as his eyes widened at their next statement.

"Like mommy! Waaabbits!"

After a moment he took a breath and calmed the children down. He pulled out another piece of paper and began drawing a bunny. Not a character this time, just a silly little animal with long ears and round eyes. Once again when he had finished he pulled away for the children to see. Zakura squealed in delight, but Ryoji just grabbed at the pen. When Byakuya moved the pen from the boy's reach he scrunched up his face.

Byakuya was about to draw a something new when Ryoji got up and grabbed the pot of ink. "Me too!" he declared. The toddler tried to run forward, but his foot caught on the fancy yukata he was wearing; child and ink pot fell onto the floor and made a huge mess.

Suddenly the room was filled with screaming kids, and squirming, and it took several minutes for Byakuya to scoop a struggling boy into his arms. He then seized Zakura's hand and led both children from the calligraphy room. Needless to say, Ryoji was going to need a bath and a fresh change of robes. A servant was waiting outside when Byakuya left the room with the kids, he nodded to the man, giving him a flat expression.

The servant seemed to understand because he nodded his head and disappeared into the recently vacated calligraphy room.

While on the outside, Byakuya was his usual stoic and calm; on the inside he exuded a twisting and wrathful cloud of reiatsu. Even the twins stayed quiet as they could feel the stuffiness in the air from their uncle's powerful influence. The air only seemed to thin and become lighter when the group reached the kitchen, where they stumbled upon a stubborn father fighting with old fashioned kitchen equipment.

Without turning around to look at them Ichigo addressed the noble. "Byakuya, your kitchen is like ten centuries out of date." It wasn't surprising that Kurosaki knew it was him, He'd been exuding enough spirit pressure to choke a horse.

"I have servants who make the meals; why are _you_ destroying my kitchen?"

Ichigo turned around and fixed Byakuya with a glare. "My kids need to eat… What the hell happened to you?!"

The scene that greeted the substitute's eyes was a rather distressed, but hiding it well, Byakuya Kuchiki. Little Zakura, looking like the little angel she was, was clean and wide-eyed, as if she hadn't a clue about what happened. The two men, Kuchiki and Ryoji; well they looked like they had just taken part in a very strenuous match of ink wrestling. From head to toe Ryoji was smeared with ink, and his clothes were stained. And byakuya's arms and chest and even his face were equally slathered.

Ichigo didn't know what to say. He just stood there and gaped and subsequently tried not to laugh, then tried not to laugh again.

"You children are insufferable." the noble said flatly.

"I can see that.." Ichigo couldn't hold it in anymore. He began to snicker loudly.

Byakuya let out a sigh, and turned to a servant that appeared in the doorway in response to his wavering reiatsu. He handed over the now wriggling Ryoji, and ordered that the child be cleaned and changed into a fresh set of robes. Then he turned his attention back to the Kurosaki boy. "Keep this little one out of trouble while I clean myself off." He nudged Zakura into the kitchen towards her father, and took his leave soon after.

"Hey little angel." greeted Ichigo. He gave his daughter a soft and warm smile. "Have you been good today?"

The little orange-haired girl toddled over to her father's side and gave his leg a tight hug. "I'm lots of good!" Zakura chimed happily. "Ryoji was _baaaad._" She added unnecessarily. She hid her face in her father's clothes.

"Yes well, your uncle needs to lighten up. He's a real big ass sometimes." Ichigo continued preparing their afternoon snack. As he idly chatted with his daughter.

"ASS!" Chimed Zakura for emphasis.

"Shit!" Ichigo cursed. "Don't tell your mother I said that around you."

"SHIT!" Zakura parroted loudly.

Ichigo clapped his hand over the little girl's mouth and shook his finger at her. "No. Those words are bad. Mommy will have your hide… and mine if you go about saying them."

"Mommy says you _smell_." were the first words that came out of his little angle's mouth after he removed his hand.

"Oh really." Her father grinned. "Well tell her I think she's really short."

"A weally short ass?" She asked. and giggled as if her naughty word was funny. She clapped her hands over her mouth as Ichigo fixed her with a glare of warning.

"No more naughty words or I'll paddle your hind end." Informed her father, he was no longer joking. All the endearing humor the two had shared earlier evaporated, as Ichigo realized his daughter was not going to understand until he acted like a parent. "Now have a seat, and wait for Byakuya and your brother to come back."

Several minutes later Ichigo felt Byakuya's spirit pressure, _now well under control, _enter the room. Just as before, Ichigo ignored the nobleman and kept his back to him as he worked to finish cooking.

"Where is the little girl?" Byakuya's calm voice broke the silence, but it also tore daggers into Ichigo's ears just as sharply as the noble's eyes did to his back.

"What do you mean, she's sitting at the table…" Ichigo swallowed his own words when he turned around to witness that his daughter had managed to wander off in the last couple of minutes. "Shit.. I'll go find her." The orange-head sighed and wiped his hand on a towel. "I'll go find her."

"No." Clipped Byakuya. "I promised Rukia I would watch them. I'll go find _your_ child."

Ichigo just rolled his eyes when the black-haired man stormed from the kitchen in yet another foul mood. "What a prick." He hissed venomously.

"Pwick!" Parrotted a toddler from the doorway. Ichigo turned and saw Ryoji barrel into the room towards him. The toddler was all cleaned up and in a plain white set of robes. "Pwick pwick pwick!" Chanted the little boy, finding the new word to be extremely entertaining.

"Oh for God's sake; your mother is going to skin me." This time ichigo leaned down and scooped up his kid, and decided it was best just to balance Ryoji on his hip while he finished cooking. Lest the second child go up missing. He wasn't frightened of Byakuya's wrath, sure that his own powers exceeded the noble. No it was his wife's wrath later on that scared him the most. That woman could make even the meanest toughest scum tremble and cower in fear. Ichigo just shuddered at the thought.

0000

Byakuya searched the house high and low and it was only in the last room that he looked that he found the little Ichigo clone. She was seated in front of a shrine, and she was happily beating two candles together, causing a loud racket. The shrine in question usually housed a picture of Byakuya's deceased wife, Hisana. The candles, which were not lit right now, were all knocked over and scattered around the room.

When Kuchiki entered the room, the little girl just looked up at him with big amber eyes, and smiled happily. She held up a picture of Hisana to show Byakuya, and looked as proud as can be. "Mommy!" She squealed happily.

"That is NOT your mother." growled her uncle. It was everything he could manage to keep from yelling at the troublesome child before him. He took a moment to compose himself, taking a few deep breaths. These children were really trying his patience.

Zakura took a moment to analyze her uncle's foul mood, and immediately went on the defensive. She knew right away, _she was in trouble._ Byakuya was barely able to take one step towards her, suddenly the toddler's mouth opened wide and she let out a blood curdling scream. Another step caused the orange-haired toddler to take off running, she was so quick that it caught Byakuya off guard and she slipped past him and out into the hall.

"DAAAADDDY!" Screamed Zakura, she skittered down one hall and up another. Byakuya close on her heels. "DAAAAAAAAADDDDDYYY! HEEEEELLLPPP!"

Ichigo heard the two coming before they even reached the kitchen. The unmistakeable patter of frantic toddler feet, followed by the scary and mathematically precise foot falls of Rukia's older brother. Halfway down a different hallway, a pink haired soul reaper joined Zakura and the two began screaming all the way into the kitchen. Once past the threshold, both girls dove for the amused and shocked Ichigo, and hid behind his legs.

Byakuya appeared in the doorway soon after, the mask of his face calm and straight as ever, but his eyes burned with anger.

Ryoji looked at his uncle from Ichigo's arm, much like his sister had been after the ink incident, the little boy looked innocent and wide-eyed. Ichigo, not understanding the gravitity of the situation, just began laughing uncontrollably at the situation. "What's the matter Kuchiki? Are two little toddlers too much for you?" Ichigo picked Zakura up and balanced her on his other hip. "I know in a one on one, I'm a bit too much for you, but _really_, my kids? I'd think they'd at least need 5 more years to out-class you, this is _too _soon."

Neither man said anything more. Byakuya simply left the room, and Ichigo just turned away from him, settling his children down for a long-awaited snack. The happy children, and a mooching Yachiru, gleefully ate the peanut butter and banana sandwiches that had taken an inept Ichigo more than an half of an hour to prepare.

The rest of the night passed rather uneventfully, and the kids were put to bed early. All the days activities had tired the little mongrels out, and they crashed well before 7 pm. Byakuya eventually calmed down, and even took dinner with Ichigo, though neither male really talked about anything.

0000

The next morning saw the two males taking a stroll in the gardens. The gardens made up much of the grounds of the Kuchiki estate, and they were well tended daily by many servants. The sakura trees and koi pond were especially Byakuya's pride and joy. Ichigo's two noisy and rambunctious kids screamed, ran, tripped, and then screamed some more through the gardens.

Finally the kids seemed to stop their incessant noise and instead began tugging on their father's clothing. Their father however had been making idle conversation with their uncle, and it took a bit of tugging and a string of "Daddy, daddy, daddy," before he finally looked down at them.

As soon as they were sure they had their Father's attention they began chanting "Woosh!" One right after the other, over and over again.

Byakuya looked over at Ichigo with a confused look in his eyes. He tilted his head, "woosh?" he inquired.

The orange-head gave Byakuya a lopsided grin, and bent down to hoist Zakura to his hip. "They want me to do this." He clarified. He made sure he had a firm grip on his daughter, and made sure his son took a step back. When everything was clear he gathered his reiatsu under his feet, and flash-stepped forward a few feet. When he re-appeared he turned and grinned widely at Byakuya. Zakura also greeted her uncle with a squeal of delight, and many joyful giggles.

"Me too!" sang Ryoji in excitement. "Me too! Meee TOOOO!" Ryoji ran up to Ichigo and grabbed fistfuls of his robes.

Ichigo took a moment to set Zakura down and scoot her away, then he picked up his son, and repeated the same as before, but this time he reappeared next to Byakuya. The small gust of wind created by his movement caused the noble's hair to become disturbed, but for once the man didn't seem bothered. Instead he was watching the interaction of the father and his two kids with mild amusement.

"So they like shun-po?" He inquired.

"Yeah, it's their favorite thing." Ichigo scratched his hair with his free hand, "sometimes they'll ask me to do it until I'm tired out." The kids started chanting "woosh," again, and pulling on their father's clothes. "Say, Kuchiki." Ichigo shot Byakuya a sly grin. "You wanna give it a try?"

"Shun-po isn't meant to be used as a game." the Kuchiki noble tried to turn his face away and feign disinterest.

"C'mon give me a break. Yoruichi says you used to play Flash-step tag all the time way back when." The orange-head turned to his kids and pushed them in their uncle's direction. "Uncle Byakuya can woosh too." He urged them.

Immediately both kids squealed and rushed at Byakuya. "Baka woosh! Baka woosh!" For a moment the Kuchiki noble was startled, his eyes growing a bit wider than usual. He was barely able to keep the kids from jumping on him. After a moment he looked up to glare at Ichigo, but the boy had already made his get away toward the mansion. From the way Kurosaki's shoulders shook, he knew he was being laughed at. Finally Byakuya looked down at the noisy kids, they were still begging for wooshes. A sigh and an eye-roll later, and the nobleman took a child up in each arm, balancing them on either hip just as their father did.

"I expect you to hold on." He instructed. He felt both kids take fistfuls of his yukata. A moment later Byakuya began flash stepping to and fro, a chorus of children's laughter following every movement.

About twenty minutes later Ichigo returned to the garden to find his two children laughing and squealing while racing around with their uncle. Ichigo almost missed it, almost swore he didn't hear it, and even second guessed it afterward. For one moment, one single moment, he heard a chuckle; a deep sounding, low, and almost handsome sound. But it was over and quickly drowned out by children sounds, and Ichigo dismissed it assuming he'd heard wrong.

0000

Later that afternoon, Zakura and Ichigo decided to have a messy art time in the kitchen. Byakuya refused to let them defile his calligraphy room; so the duo found themselves on the kitchen floor with several pots of colorful paint, and many sheets of parchment paper. Ti-dye hand prints, and terribly drawn bunnies came to life all over the kitchen.

Ryoji however was not about to partake in art-time today. He was much more intrigued by his uncle's whereabouts. After all the fun in the gardens in the morning with Byakuya; Ryoji was determined to hang out with his dark and mysterious uncle for the second half of the day as well.

Needless to say, Ryoji found his moody and stoic uncle in the training dojo. Said uncle was deep in focus, performing intensive yoga. This didn't seem to deter Byakuya's nephew though, he toddled right up to the Kuchiki noble and assumed a very cheesy fighter pose.

The new presence caught Bykauya off guard and he paused what he was doing to look down at his unwelcome nephew. Ryoji didn't pay his uncle the same attention, the little toddler was more focused on his own training. His face was set in an intense scowl, much like his father's trademark expression, this little boy was brimming with determination. Byakuya watched with curiosity usually alien to the noble.

After a moment of silence, the little boy hopped forward and cried "Woosh!" It was so sudden and unexpected that it caused Byakuya to take a step back in surprise. And he was still stunned when the little boy continued his actions; focus, hop and simultaneous "woosh!" The little boy was actually attempting to flash-step on his own. After watching a few more unsuccessful attempts, Byakuya decided to step in and become a mentor.

A large hand fell on Ryoji's shoulder halting anymore attempts, "Watch," instructed a deep voice, there was almost a parental edge to the masculine voice. The dark-haired noble took up an equally intense pose next to his orange-haired nephew. The little boy looked up with shining violet eyes, eyes that mirrored his mother's; he was met by equally intense but older grey eyes.

"You must focus your spirit energy under your feet. Let your reiatsu carry your feet through space and time." Byakuya's instructions did not cater to the child's limited understanding. But Ryoji seemed determined enough to see, and listen past their gap in understanding.

A half hour later, and many failed attempts, concluded in Byakuya being taken back like never before. The little Ichigo clone flooded the room with unsteady spirit energy.

Ryoji, determined to woosh all by himself, managed to release enough spirit energy to counter-act his lack of control. And for the briefest of moments, when he hopped forward announcing the motion's sound effect. He vanished from sight and re-appeared a foot and a half away from his original position.

This was met with a choking sound escaping Bykauya's throat, as the young child had accomplished something that took most adult soul reapers years to achieve. The child was able to form half of a smile at his triumph, before all the chaotic spirit energy evaporated, and the little toddler collapsed in a limp heap on the floor. A concerned and secretly very proud uncle went to collect him and make sure he was alright.

With strong and protective arms, Kuchiki cradled the boy against his chest, and rocked him back and forth in a comforting motion. If anyone had been in the room to witness it, they would not have believed it. When he was sure the child was breathing, and still in perfect health, he settled himself on the floor, and tenderly ruffled the toddler's orange mane.

"One day you will be the finest 'Woosh-Master,'" whispered Byakuya, quiet and low. "Second to myself, or course." corrected his uncle.

0000

The two days ended all too quickly and soon it was time to go home. The morning of the third day; the party of four, Kuchiki and Kurosaki, followed by the two orange-maned toddlers; met Rukia on the grounds of the 6th division. She was radiant as ever in Ichigo's eyes, even if motherhood had caused her to gain a little weight. Said mother was looking quite rested and relaxed as she greeted the group.

"Mooommmmyyyyy!" The two toddlers clambered over each other to reach mommy first, and as soon as they did, they buried their faces in her shinigami robes, and giggled happily.

"Well hello there," greeted Rukia, she ruffled their hair with her hands and smiled warmly at her lovely children. "Were you two good for nii-sama?"

The children answered with childlike responses that only a parent could understand.

Ichigo was the next to approach Rukia. He parted her from their children and scooped her up in his strong arms. Then with no regard to _any_ of the audience, he planted a passionate and heartfelt kiss on his wife's lips. His arms holding her close as if they'd spent years apart. The toddlers didn't seem off put by this action at all, and accompanied it with cheering and "yays." Byakuya however scowled at the two. He never did approve of his sister marrying the annoying and brash human boy. But he held his tongue.

After the reunion of husband and wife concluded, Ichigo put her down and turned his attention to the waiting kids. "Go say goodbye to your uncle, and say thank you." He instructed them.

The toddlers turned and ran screaming back to Byakuya. Zakura reached him first and gave him a hug. Byakuya nodded at her, and gave her a half-hug/half-pat in return. The smallest of smiles even graced his lips. Then came Ryoji, the small boy stopped about two feet from Byakuya and fixed him with his purple eyes. The noble looked at him just as intently and for a moment neither of them spoke.

Then finally, Ryoji opened his mouth and addressed his uncle. "Baka." was the only word he uttered.

A smirk formed on Byakuya's face. "Brat." He said in return.

With that, both children ran away back to their parents, and eventually left through an open senkaimon into the living world.

Rukia held the hands of her children as they finally made it back to the living world. She looked at each of them, and asked how their stay was. Zakura had announced that it was good and fun. But Ryoji's response was a little odd.

"Imma brat!" He crowed with excitement.

"Has your father been calling you a brat again." She asked, irritation laced in her voice.

Ryoji shook his head quickly. "Baka-sama!" he told her happily.

The confusion never left her eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>I apologize if people don't like this chapter. I struggled with it for quite some time. And I even studied as many small kids as I could while at work. I'm not real familiar with small children since I've never had any of my own. But I tried to make them believable. Let me know if I succeeded or failed. My husband and I proof read this chapter a few times, but we may have missed some stuff. I also apologize for spelling and grammatical errors. <strong>

**I also have no clue if the pacing was okay. Really I honestly struggled with this whole thing. It was really fluffy and completely out of my element. I'm a dark writer. I like dark and I like humor. I don't do fluff, or cutesy. But marriage has carved a bit of fluff in my soul, and i felt compelled to write. Besides this was just too cute of an idea to pass up. **

**So yeah... Please tell me how I did. Good? Bad? Just let me know. the curiosity kills. **

**Anonymous reviews are enabled so anyone can review.**


	3. Stroke of Bad Luck

**This one is a sad theme. I tried to throw Ichigo in the reigns of human struggles, faced with human problems. I figured it's about time he faced his humanity. **

**Summary: Rukia, is wrestling with Ichigo's mortality, and her own resolve. None of the soul realms, or their perilous battles could have prepared them for this uphill battle. **

**Title: A Stroke of Bad Luck**

* * *

><p>He stared at her from the bed. To everyone else it was a blank stare, empty, void, and cold. But to Rukia, his stare was one of defeat, absolute and unforgivable. It was like the world had crushed his fire and left only an empty shell. Now more than ever, his mortality was present. He was finally being human, facing <em>human <em>problems. She had no doubt, as strong as he was, he could overcome this mountain. But not alone, and that's why she promised herself to be there. Every. Single. Step.

"Ichigo?" She whispered. He didn't respond when she approached him. She gave him a soft smile anyway, and stood next to his hospital bed. She tentatively reached out, and for a moment his right hand seemed to twitch. When nothing else happened, she ran her small finger's through his burning orange hair. "The doctor says you can go home tomorrow. Your father is out picking a wheel chair for you."

"God-damn.. kitty kitty.." Responded Ichigo.

"Yes," Rukia smiled weakly. "God damn those kitties."

Ever since Ichigo had suffered a stroke, he had been unable to say anything else. His mind seemed to grope for words, but all that came out was "God-damn, kitty kitty." He had also been unable to walk, his body had lost most of its coordination. And with so much loss came all that defeat.

But Rukia stayed ever hopeful. The doctor had said that Ichigo was still young. He was only in his mid-twenties after all. The stoke had been an odd curve ball, strange for his young age. However with physical therapy, and a lot of work, Ichigo should be able to re-learn what he had lost. With such hope in the future, how could she give up on him?

She reached out and took his hand. That action finally caused Ichigo to look up at her, and when she dove into those familiar amber eyes, she felt her whole heart break. Guilt washed over her, she knew it wasn't her fault, but she hated herself for being unable to help him right now. She loathed her helplessness. _I will fix you. _

A nurse came in at that moment. She smiled sweetly at Rukia and spoke in a very soft, and sickeningly melodious voice. "It's time for mister Kurosaki's exercises." She informed the two room occupants of this as if it were something delightful.

Rukia hated that nurse. She hated the woman's sweet demeanor. She hated how this woman could act so chipper and happy, as if nothing were wrong. _Fuck you, _thought Rukia bitterly._ You, who can come in each day and be so joyful. You don't have to look your best friend in the eye, and swallow your own tears. You don't have to force words of hope past your chapped lips and assure him everything is alright. You don't have to hold his hand, and wish that he could say, "I love you." instead of... instead of "God-Damn, kitty kitty." _The black-haired soul reaper simply plastered a fake smile on her face, and nodded at the chipper nurse. "I'll be back in a bit."

The nurse nodded, and beamed at the two of them. Rukia took a moment to tell Ichigo that she would be back after his physical therapy was over. When he didn't respond or even look at her, she swallowed a sob that threatened to escape, and kept it silent in the back of her throat. Then she shot one more fake smile at the nurse, and left the room.

She wandered down to the hospital's cafeteria, and she found Isshin and his two daughters. Yuzu and Karin had aged a lot since she first met Ichigo. They were developed and beautiful women, who even had jobs, and their own apartments. The girls had been frequent visitors alongside their father ever since Ichigo had been admitted into the hospital.

Before the stroke, Isshin had been graying. His once stark black hair had been showing the signs of human age. But now... now his hair was almost completely grey. In only a few weeks his hair color had changed so drastically. He acted so confident, and sure that his son would be alright. He acted as if Ichigo could power through anything, just as he had done before. But his body refused to let him hide the stress completely. Rukia knew it was the constant worry and stress that had caused the change in hair color. Isshin was just as powerless to help his only son, and it was tearing him apart too.

Yuzu and Karin were arguing loudly over something, probably the gross hospital food. And Isshin was looking through a brochure. When Rukia approached she saw it was a wheel chair brochure. The Kurosaki father looked up at her and beamed the biggest, _and fakest,_ smile ever. He held up the brochure for her to see.

"How does this one look, Rukia-chan?" His voice was loud, and upbeat, but it also rang hollow. As if he was just trying too hard.

Rukia let her gaze wander over the brochure, and saw that he'd circled a rather nice wheel chair with a red sharpie. "It looks great." She answered. She gave him a grin to try and assure him that everything was alright. But when her eye's met with Isshin's, they both saw the pain the other was trying so hard to hide.

Isshin placed a large hand on her shoulder, it was comforting, just a little bit. "He'll be alright," he assured. "My son is strong, he'll get through this, and everything will be A-okay."

"Of course." Rukia assured right back.

They both knew she was fibbing.

0000

When this tragedy had befallen the young hero, Rukia had considered letting his soul form out of his human body for a bit. So that maybe he could talk again. But Soul Society had strictly forbidden it. Apparently when a human's body got sick like that, letting their soul form wander away was a bad thing. Something about them never wanting to return to such a crippled body. Ichigo's body needed him, or it would never recover. She refused to let him leave his body to die.

She felt a like a prison warden, but she promised to hold his soul hostage inside his human body, and force him to make the painful recovery. It was for his sake. She just prayed her sanity could hold out. She hadn't considered the possibility of giving up on Ichigo, he would never give up on her, so she wouldn't even consider it.

Tonight, Rukia went to the kurosaki residence. Ever since the stroke, she had spent every night in Ichigo's hospital room. Staying close and praying for a miracle. But now, she just wanted some time alone, time to think, and find her resolve. The house was empty when she arrived. Every light was off, even the front porch, and the place had a feeling of abandonment about it. No one had actually lived in the house for weeks now.

Rukia skipped the front entry way, and made for Ichigo's old window instead. She pushed the pane aside, and climbed onto the bed. A cold breeze followed her in, and she pushed the window back into place to shut it all out. The familiar scent of the room comforted her, but it was faint. Ichigo had moved out years ago, and the room was never the same after that.

Isshin had turned it into a pleasant guest room, all of the things his son had left behind were now stored in the closet. But even so, the room looked much the same as it had when Ichigo had been younger. And because of that, the memories washed over Rukia like a wave of green sea water, warm and pleasant, but at the same time bitter and sick.

Before she could stop herself she wandered over to his closet and slid the door open. The old blankets and futons she used to sleep on were in there, but they were buried under a few boxes. She felt a sudden anger over take her, and she began tearing the boxes out one by one, and hurling them aside onto the floor.

"Aaaaarrrrrrraaaaahhhhhh!" She screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Whaaaiiii...?!" She dug her way down to the futons. "A-a-a...ahhh." She climbed quickly inside and shut out the world. She coaxed her mind into pretending this was a different time. A happy time when she'd been hiding away from the spirit world. Back when she first trained Ichigo to be a soul reaper. But when she opened her eyes again, her happy time was covered in a thick layer of dust, signifying how long gone it really was. Like staring at it through an old photograph.

Rukia gently ran her hands over the familiar and soft material of the blankets. She buried them inside, deeper, trying to bury them so deep they wouldn't come back. She eventually stopped when her hand brushed against an piece of paper. Curious she grabbed it and pulled it out. She immediately saw that the paper was old, but it was still rather clean, meaning it had been untouched for many years.

She flipped it over and saw faded pencil writing. The words were smudged and light, and the whole thing was almost illegible. She was able to make out her name, and a few other words. She also recognized it as the stupid orange-head's high school hand writing. _Rukia, stupid girl, so weird, I like you, friends, reaper, Can I, and, side by side, always. _

She didn't know what the letter was trying to say. But it sounded sweet, she could almost imagine his voice saying the words right now. Obviously this letter had been meant for her years ago, but she'd never found it.

The letter was even signed with a smudged name, and an equally smudged rabbit drawing. She could just make out the shape and ears, and from the looks of it, Ichigo was a hell of an artist. She could now grasp why he always criticized her artwork. _You draw beautifully, Idiot._

Rukia fell asleep in the closet, the note clutched and tucked under her chin. She slept uneasy, and restless. Several times waking up to question where she was, but when realization kicked in, her exhausted body would drift off again.

Morning came, but it felt like it had taken an eternity to arrive. Rukia was back at the hospital bright and early and she pushed past several indignant nurses who told her to wait till Ichigo woke up. She of course told them to piss off, and went into Ichigo's room anyway. They knew damn well who she was, and they knew she hardly spent a waking hour away from the orange-head's side. Not for the past few weeks, that is.

The commotion she caused entering the room woke Ichigo. She could tell right away, and hurried to his side.

"Hey." She greeted. Her expression softened at the sight of him.

"God-damn." he whispered back at her. He reached out with his good hand, and she caught it in her own.

"The doctor says your physical therapy is working." She squeezed his hand gently. "They say you've made leaps and bounds in recovering your body functions."

"God-damn, kitty kitty." He whispered to her reassuringly. His amber eyes fixed on hers.

"Your father is taking you back to the clinic today. You'll be going through all the same therapy, but in the comfort of a familiar place." She figured he had probably already been briefed on this, but talking to him felt comforting. Maybe if she did it enough he'd recover his words again.

She pulled his letter from her pants pocket and set in on his lap. Ichigo just stared down at it, but it seemed like he didn't actually see it.

"I found that letter in your old closet. Back at your Dad's place. It was addressed to me, I'm sorry I never saw it till now. It's real old and smudged, I couldn't read most of it." She poked it absently. Before looking at his face again.

Ichigo was staring at her, they locked eyes, and she saw something there. Ever since the stroke his eyes had always been dull, void, and empty. The fire had been dead, and gone. He'd sunk so low in depression, that all emotion had been sapped from his expression. But now, there was something dancing there, as if life was stirring.

"I'm gonna go find your father, and see if we can move things along." She smiled weakly at him. "I bet you're itching to go home, huh?" Rukia released his hand, and turned away to leave, but she felt a tug on her shirt before she could step away. She glanced down and saw that he'd grabbed her shirt with his right hand, the side that had been affected. Her heart jumped at the realization.

"G-god-damn..." He started to say again. Ichigo stopped, and she heard him swallow. Then he opened his mouth to try again. "God-damn... Roo."

Rukia spun around quickly. She swore she heard the beginnings of her name fall from his lips. "Ichigo?" She asked, almost afraid. Maybe she'd heard wrong.

He was silent, and instead just fixed her with a very desperate look. Almost pleading. It was the most light she'd seen in his eyes in weeks. A few moments passed and still nothing.

Rukia felt her heart sink, and her face fell with it. She reached out and patted his leg. "It's alright." She told him unconvincingly. _I'm such an idiot_, she told herself.

"N-no." The orange-head snatched her hand again. "G-god.. D-DAMN.. ROO!" He forced words out. Trying to make her listen. "Rrr-roo." His hand squeezed her's desperately.

Rukia choked for a moment. He really was trying to say her name. She said the only thing she could in response. The only thing she'd wanted to tell him, and the thing she'd regretted not saying before this incident. "I love you too... You big, stupid moron." She couldn't stop the tears that slipped down her face, and no matter how she swallowed, the sobs escaped her throat.

The left side of Ichigo's mouth turned up, it wasn't much of a smile, but it was a thousand times more than she'd seen in awhile. "Kitty, kitty." He told her as if it explained everything.

0000

A few hours later Isshin showed up with the wheelchair. He'd taken care of all the check out procedures, and they were all set to transfer Ichigo to the clinic. It took a bit to get Ichigo out of bed and into the chair, but Isshin was as strong as ever and holding Ichigo up proved to be an easy task for him. They finally got the orange-head settled into the chair, and a feeling of accomplishment followed them.

"Well boy," Announced Isshin. "I'm gonna go bring the van around to pick you up. Rukia'll take you from here." He clapped Rukia on the shoulder and gave her a wink. Then he left to go get the vehicle ready.

Rukia locked her violet eyes with amber once again. Something seemed to be happening behind those eyes again, but she couldn't figure out what. She sighed and shook her head, then she came up behind him and grasped the handles of the wheel chair. She paused for a moment before pushing the chair forward towards the exit.

When she reached the door she paused again. "Hey, we're friends...right?"

"G-god, Roo." He answered.

"This," She said confidently. "This is nothing."

Ichigo tried to turn his head to look at her, but it didn't work quite well.

"You're my partner, moron." She ruffled his hair. "We got this, no sweat." Rukia began pushing him again, and they were out in the hall before she spoke again. "We will always be partners, got that."

There was a moment of silence following that. "God-damn, kitty kitty." He replied confidently. His words weren't new, but the conviction in them was apparent. He sounded like he was ready to fight again, like there was hope still.

* * *

><p><strong>I wanted to write something a little more realistic. Down to earth so to say. I've never experienced someone near me having a stroke, but people have told me stories of their own experiences. This is based off those. Tell me how close I got. And forgive me for any inaccuracies, I read up on strokes before writing this, but I might have still made some mistakes. <strong>

**R&R if you would, it would mean a lot, especially on this chapter. **

**I'm still accepting prompt ideas for more one shots, and I hope to publish new ones weekly. If not weekly, bi-weekly.**

**I may even do some mature ones if people would like. **


	4. Reaper Festival

**This one is different to say the least. It's my longest one-shot yet. But it should be hilarious.**

**I had a ton of fun writing this, not so much fun revising and editing it. And less fun realizing I made Rukia out of character the first time, and therefore had to go back and fix it. So I hope this version seems in character to you. If you feel its OOC, I apologize, I did my best. **

**Summary: The Soul Reapers throw a victory festival in the wake of all that's happened. Rukia asks Ichigo to accompany her, but is shot down. Renji insults Rukia in the process of asking her out, and he's shot down. To get back at both the guys, Rukia asks the most unexpected individual she can think of. But maybe she got more than she bargained for...**

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><p>"But-!" Renji was cut off by a book being hurled at his head. He blocked it and backed out the door before she became even more violent. "Bitch." He muttered under his breath before walking away from the lieutenant's office of the 13th division.<p>

The soul society was throwing a festival, something to commemorate all the hard work of the reapers over the past few years. There had been so many long and hard battles fought, so many victories and yet also many losses. The 13 court guard squads were relieved that things had finally returned to normal, and that peace had settled over the world of the living and the soul realms.

It was time to rejoice, time to take pleasure in the smaller things. And with Shunsui Kyoraku as the new head captain, a festival was inevitable.

Renji had just finished attempting to ask Rukia to the festival, but he'd worded the invitation badly. Saying it would be such an honor for her to accompany someone such as him to the festival. _What a self-important ass. He acts like he's so much better than me ever since he became a captain. _Rukia shuffled some papers, and tried to make her desk neater than it already was. "Going with Captain Abarai to the festival, what an _honor~_" She said sarcastically to no one.

Truth be told, Renji was still as pompous and selfish as always. He constantly gloated about his achievements, and how he still out-ranked Rukia. She was sick of it.

"I'll accompany Ganju before I'd go with that big lumox." She grumbled to herself.

Suddenly the door to her office slid back and a familiar face poked inside. "Hey~" Greeted her white-haired captain. "I saw Renji leave, did you two go at it again?"

Captain Ukitake was looking so much better today. Usually the man looked as if the weight of the world was settled on his shoulders, and this tended to be due to his chronic illness. Today seemed to be one of his better days, and the man had an aura of whimsical about him. It would have been infectious but today it could not penetrate Rukia's thick cloud of contempt.

"He's an idiot," replied Rukia. "But it's nice to see you up and about, Captain." She gave him a smile and stood up from her desk.

"I'm feeling quite well today, actually." Ukitake beamed at her in return. "Say, that festival is tomorrow night, I bet you are looking forward to it, huh?" Her captain gave her a not so clever wink.

Rukia's eyebrow twitched in response. "I haven't a clue what you mean, sir." She growled out.

"Really?" He asked, "I figured you'd already have a date. I mean, with Renji, and Hanataro, even the human, kurosaki. Surely you can't be short on eligible gentlemen?" He raised his eyebrows at her questioningly. Even though he tried to keep it disguised with a mask of fatherly concern, Rukia could see the amusement and mischief dancing behind his eyes.

"Captain, I think this is a very inappropriate subject to be discussing." She rubbed her brow, and made to walk past him.

"Scared them all away didn't you?"

She pushed a stack of papers into his hand. "I finished all the paper work, you just need to make a few revisions." She shot him the most menacing scowl she could muster. "I'm going out for the evening."

"R-right." Ukitake nodded absently, and stared at the paperwork as if it were a snake. "Well take care then. Tell Byakuya, I send my regards."

0000

Honestly, Rukia had just been in a bad mood all week. When the festival was first announced a week ago, by a very enthusiastic Head Captain Kyoraku, everyone had been elated. It was finally time to let loose, and have some fun. But now... now she was loathing the upcoming event. Soul reapers from all around had been scrambling for a "date" to accompany them. Kyoraku had made a big deal that you had to attend with someone, even if you didn't spend the whole evening with them.

When this turn of events had been announced, naturally Rukia had a certain someone in mind to bring along as her "date." Especially when it was announced that humans, and vizards and Quincies were welcome to the event. But when she posed the question to a certain Substitute Soul Reaper, she was quickly declined.

"Sorry, Rukia. I won't be able to make it." He had informed her. "My week is packed with college exams, and I have essays so crammed into my schedule. I'll be booked for pretty much the entire evening." He had looked sincerely apologetic, and so she was unable to fault him for it.

Ever since things settled down in the spirit world, Ichigo had been taking his education rather seriously. And he'd been struggling to get into a really nice college. She knew he was spending most of his waking hours now trying to prove his intellectual worth. In fact they'd hardly spent any time together, he was so busy with college, and she was so busy with the court guard squads.

She refused to lie to herself, after he turned her down, she felt dejected. She didn't really want to attend the festival with anyone else. She had hoped to stand there among all the reapers with her reaper _partner_ by her side. But like everything else in her life, it just wasn't meant to be.

All these thoughts rumbled around in her head as she entered the Kuchiki estate. Her brother greeted her cooly from the tea room, but she ignored him and stomped off to her room instead. Once inside the sanctuary of her own room, she flopped down on her futon and hid her face in a mound of blankets.

"Stupid Renji, stupid festival, stupid Ichigo." She kicked her feet absently in frustration.

"Rukia." A calm and collected, but alluringly deep voice cut the air of her bedroom.

Rukia sat up instantly, and bowed towards the door. "My apologies, Nii-sama. Please come in."

She heard her elder brother slide the door to her room aside, and saw his feet step into her field of vision. He was standing not far from her now.

"Dismiss the formality, Rukia." He ordered. "Something is bothering you, I'd like an explanation." The stoic head of the Kuchiki clan studied Rukia with careful eyes.

She finally brought her eyes away from the floor and looked up at the man she called brother. She saw the way he watched her carefully, and she knew he wouldn't accept anything but the truth.

"The expectation for the upcoming festival is to bring a companion. While it doesn't have to be a romantic interest, its still a significant expectation." She calmly explained. "I... I intended to have Ichigo Kurosaki as my companion for the festival, but my invitation was rejected. Renji Abarai intended to ask me to accompany him today; he insulted me in the process, so I turned him down." After telling her brother of the chain of events, she couldn't seem to put into words her inner turmoil, and instead fell silent.

"The human boy turned you down." It was probably meant to be a question but it didn't come off that way.

"Hai." Rukia responded. "But it was due to prior obligations he had in the world of the living."

Byakuya said nothing, but his demeanor seemed to soften just the slightest at this elaborated explanation. There was another long moment of silence, then finally Byakuya spoke up, saying something that surprised them both.

"Maybe its for the best if you accompany someone unexpected." His suggestion was completely out there. Not something anyone would expect to come from the stoic and and serious Kuchiki noble. "Think on it." He left without another word, so that Rukia could mull it over.

After her brother's absence, Rukia spent the rest of the evening trying to figure out the meaning behind his advice. _What would I gain by attending with someone unexpected? And who counts as unexpected?_ The question was frustrating because there had been no explanation to go along with it, just vague advice. Since when had her brother been all about giving cryptic advice?

0000

The thoughts were still bugging her and driving her crazy when she slipped into a restless sleep. She tossed and turned the whole night, getting herself tied up in her own blankets. When morning found her, she was pissed at Ichigo for turning her down and she still had not thought of a stand-in partner for the festival.

Groggily she forced herself out of bed, and trudged into the bathroom to freshen up. Once there she glared at her reflection in the mirror, her expression demanding answers from herself.

"Since when have I been concerned with such trivial matters?" She demanded. "I'm perfectly capable of finding a suitable date, and even if I chose not to have one it's not like I need a man to accompany me to some stupid festival." She harrumphed at herself for emphasis. "Unlike Renji who seems to think he needs arm-candy to look good. I'm perfectly capable of looking _fine_ all by myself."

Today she put a bit more effort into her appearance. Instead of just brushing her hair, Rukia pulled it back into a top knot. Her hair lifted from her shoulders and pinned in a lovely braided bun on the top of her head, leaving the ends to splay a little. Her bangs were pinned to the side with a simple butterfly pin that she'd gotten from her brother as a gift some time ago.

After finishing with her hair, she stepped back to scrutinize her work, and nodded her approval. Today she would get over her childish disappointment at Ichigo, and she would find herself someone truly _unexpected_.

A man who no one else would think of. A man so completely out there, that she'd be throwing a curve ball right at Renji's stupid face. Someone who would make Renji seethe, and if Ichigo had been there, him as well. And it was with these thoughts in mind that Rukia found herself in a grassy field well outside of the Rukon District.

She hadn't even passed under the notoriously loud, and obvious hand and arm arches when she was greeted by the loud and brash Shiba family leader. Kukaku Shiba just happened to be sitting on her front porch smoking her usual pipe, and with the lazy raise of her hand she greeted the reaper.

"Rukia!" She called out enthusiastically. "What brings you here? Never expected you to show up on my doorstep."

Rukia knew behind the friendly and relaxed composure, the Shiba leader was still wary of her. Their dear brother's death was not forgotten, but the Kuchiki girl and the Shibas were determined to lay to rest their animosity.

"Lord Shiba." Rukia bowed trying to offer a respectful gesture to the woman before her.

"Oh knock that shit off." Snarled Kukaku. "Now you're just being ridiculous. Get over here and sit your ass down. Have some tea while you are at it, god damn-it." In a show of familiarity and forced friendship, Kukaku pounded her hand against the wood of the porch next to her, and lifted up a welcoming pot of tea.

Reluctantly, Rukia approached the former noble woman, and hesitated as she eyed the spot next to the older woman. The two ladies locked eyes momentarily, resulting in Kukaku letting off an offended sigh. The next thing Rukia knew, she was yanked down so forcefully that she lost balanced and tumbled unceremoniously onto the wooden porch next to Kukaku.

"So!" Exclaimed the Shiba leader. "What's your business at my humble abode?" It was just like the former noble to cut straight to the point. No need to dance around pitiful formalities unlike what the Kuchiki's preached. The irony of Kukaku's statement was not lost on Rukia. While the building and surrounding land was owned by a family fallen from nobility, the estate was anything but _"humble."_

"W-w-well." Rukia tried to grope for words. She didn't really know how to explain to the brash noble her predicament.

"Stop stuttering, whelp." Kukaku glared her down like a primal wolf. Her eyes more piecing than Byakuya's.

The Kuchiki noble took a moment to swallow her embarrassment, but with a new gulp of fresh, and slightly smoke tinted-air, she tried again. "I came to ask your brother, Ganju Shiba, to attend the Shinigami Victory Festival. With me... uh. Tonight." Rukia felt just as ridiculous posing the invitation as the Festival's name was. It didn't help that the following silence, and incredulous expressions made the moment very stagnant.

"AH! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Ack-koff, ka-ka-auff!" Kukaku's laughter and subsequent coughing fit filled the air, and broke the silence effectively. When she finally recovered, she leveled Rukia with a look of pure amusement. "That just made my day, girly. Ya know, for a moment, I thought you were serious. You Kuchiki's always have those perfect serious expressions." Her words were accented with a series of very un-girly chuckles.

"I was being quite sincere, Miss Kukaku." Corrected Rukia, she was becoming indignant, and her face was flushed with embarrassment. She was tempted to punch her brother for suggesting something like this, but she knew she'd chicken out later. _No one punched Byakuya.. except Ichigo._

"Okay, tell me this." sneered the former noble. "Why would a soul reaper, a _Kuchiki_ no less, ask my brother to accompany her to a Shinigami festival?" She even raised a thin eyebrow for emphasis.

"Shit." Rukia finally dismissed her formalities, and decided to fess up. Her intentions were neither pure, nor polite. Her asking of Ganju was simple to say the least. "To be honest, Ganju would be one of the last choices on my list. This will probably come off as arrogant, and highly disrespectful." She gulped heavily, and leveled Kukaku with a serious expression. "I need a... _date,_" She struggled painfully with the thought of applying that word to Ganju Shiba. "Kurosaki Ichigo has declined due to prior obligations in the living world. And Renji," She cringed at the name of her childhood friend. "He's being a pompous ass. Nii-sama suggested asking someone unexpected. So here I am." She tried to finish off her explanation with a relaxed shrug, but the roll of her shoulders was anything but chalant.

"Byakuya, suggested this?!" Kukaku was obviously taken back.

"He didn't exactly suggest the Shiba clan. But I figured it couldn't get anymore unexpected than this." Clarified the Kuchiki girl.

After a moment of laughter, and held breath of Rukia's part, Kukaku finally dismissed her mirthful attitude and got serious. "So you want to _use _my brother to accompany you in order to drive your soul reapers friends crazy." It could have been a question, but it wasn't, and it made it a huge accusation.

Rukia swallowed dryly, and nodded her shame.

"Oh how you bring nobility down." Kukaku tried to hide her chuckle, but it escaped regardless. "Its a good thing that I'm the kind of sister who cares not how insulted her brother is. Showing up to an important event with Ganju, _a Shiba,_ will definitely cause quite the stir. Your man-crushes will be jealous because Ganju scored you instead of them. And the Shinigami nobility will be offended because a Kuchiki noble is dating a Shiba. HA-HA!" Kukaku clapped Rukia on the back in comradery. The gesture was odd considering they were anything but friends.

"You aren't offended?" Rukia was appalled by Kukaku's easy going demeanor on the subject.

"Offended? Me?" The former noble scoffed. "The only one who'd be offended is my brother. And he'll get over it. GANJU! HEY GANJU!" She called to her brother loudly and obnoxiously. "GANJU, YOU LITTLE SHIT! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE AND SAY HI TO YOUR NEW GIRLFRIEND!"

Rukia failed at hiding her mortified and flushed face behind her hands as the man in question burst from the house in a huge huff, equal to his tall and burly stature.

"Geez Sis!" He barked. "It takes some time to get to the front door ya know! It's not like I can flash step to your beck and call!" He glared down his sibling, completely ignoring Rukia. "Now where's this girl you mentioned, I didn't know I had a secret admirer." Taking his attention away from his sister, he brought his hand to shade his eyes while he peered around past the porch. Still completely oblivious to the Kuchiki girl sitting at his feet.

"Ganju, quit being a dick. Do your family some honor and escort this lovely girl to the Shinigami's festival tonight." The older woman sniffed and took a long sip of her tea, while she waited for this knowledge to sink into Ganju's thick skull.

The Shiba man took a moment to stare down at Rukia blankly, and he didn't seem to understand his sister's words. When he finally did speak, his temper blew like a short-fused rocket. "HELL NO!"

"Ganju." warned Kukaku.

"No sis! No way. No to a soul reaper festival. No to attending it with a soul reaper, and definitely no to attending it with _THIS_ soul reaper." The sound of Ganju's teeth grinding together was heard by everyone present.

"Shut up for a second, you dumb-ass!" The older sibling easily snatched her brother's attention with her usual harsh language and dominant personality. "If you'd just listen to the proposition, i'm sure you'd find it much more appealing..."

000000

It took an hour or so to explain the situation to Ganju, and how much his presence would insult soul reapers and nobility alike. After finding out how much of a crash he'd get to make at the festival, the man was quick to dismiss his own pride, and was delighted to join in the little scheme.

The next few hours were spent getting ready. Ganju was sent to collect a decent looking set of robes to wear to the event. Kukaku insisted he look his best for the festival, and Ganju didn't seem to complain.. too much.

Next, the older woman seemed dead set on making Rukia look like a vixen at the festival. Her exact words being, "If we are going to do jealousy, we need to do it sensuously." And so the young Kuchiki noble got introduced to a side of Kukaku that seemed almost non-existent. Who knew such a tom-boyish woman had the capacity to be so femininely _sexy._ This was not however making reference to Kukaku's obviously sexy physical appearance, but instead to her often ugly personality.

Rukia found herself leaving the Shiba clan's estate on the arm of a rather cleaned up Ganju Shiba, and dressed in an outfit that would undoubtedly have even her own brother looking twice in interest.

And so it came to be that Kuchiki Rukia showed up at the Shinigami Victory Festival, bathed in the light of the setting sun, draped on the manly, and muscular arm of the man, Shiba Ganju. And to the delight of both parties, they became an immediate center of attention for multiple reasons.

Firstly, Rukia was dressed in a fine Yukata. It was soft and inviting, especially since it was transparent, and had an iridescent purple color to it. The yukata hung low on her shoulders, exposing her pale but inviting flesh, and it stopped rather high on her thighs, making her legs look a lot longer than they actually were. She wore a western themed strapless gown underneath the see-through yukata. It stopped at her thighs in much the same place the Asian dress did. The western gown was smooth and form fitting, and it was a sexy blood red. The whole outfit showed off Rukia's curvy body.. or lack there of. While Rukia was not known for her sensuous curves, the dress did a damn fine job of making it look like she did have them.

Not that anyone noticed past the upper part of her evening wear, but she was also wearing a pair of blood red heels. But not many eyes that made it down that far. However, there were plenty of jaws that made it there.

Ganju, on the other hand, was causing quite a stir himself. The usually gruff and untempered man was wearing formal robes with complex and expensive embroidery. His usually messy hair was slicked back and well kept, and his usually greasy skin was cleaned up. For once, the fallen noble looked like he belonged to a noble family. And his large physique and squared features actually complimented Rukia's small form nicely. Strangely, he also seemed quite pleased with himself to have the darling little demon hanging off his arm so devilishly.

Next were the looks of astonishment on the older individuals present at the festival. These looks were peppered with appalled glares, alarmed horror, and a bit of disgust. Needless to say, there were going to be some harsh words said to Rukia when all was said and done tonight.

Lastly, Rukia had the reaction she aimed for this night. Her appearance coupled with the fact that she was attending with Ganju had Renji practically in a fit. Captain Abarai had ended up accompanying Nemu Kurosuchi for some odd reason. And it may have been due to her lack of personality, no one would ever really know. Nemu didn't really seem interested in Renji, or the festival. Needless to say, the red-haired reaper had choked on his own tongue when his eyes settled on Rukia and her date. Subsequently, his eyebrow began twitching in contempt.

While making Renji jealous and causing a stir had been her short term goal; her hope was that by the end of the week, rumors of the festival would fall on Ichigo's ears and drive him insane. She would make him regret passing up this opportunity.

Of course, she surprised herself when she noticed the looks on certain faces. Poor Hanataro had to hide his face, and wipe some slap-stick blood away from his nose. Her own captain held a blank stare that did well to mask some of the inappropriate thoughts he started having about his own lieutenant. The sickly man would have to send prayers begging of forgiveness later for this transgression. Yumichika was stunned, and Ikkaku even gave her a few once overs. Shunsui was pleasantly amused, if a little taken back, by this turn of events. But with his own lovely lady, Miss Nanao, hanging off his own arm; well it wasn't hard for his attention to be stolen back to his own date as quickly as it left.

The attention she garnered caused Rukia's mind to become flooded with doubt and second thoughts. She felt her embarrassment start to rise, and her cheeks burned red. Taking a moment she buried her face against Ganju's arm, her pitiful attempt to regain her own composure.

Ganju looked down at her when he felt her face rest against him. "Hey Rukia, don't you be chickening out on me now. This was your idea."

She pulled away to look up at him and hissed her response over his arm. "I wanted my revenge on Renji, and i got it. This dress was hardly my idea."

"Well my sister doesn't like to half-ass anything." Ganju scratched the side of his head with his free hand. "If you know her like I do, everything sis does has to have a _bang_." He felt Rukia shudder as a few more stares swept her way, and he knew she was becoming wary, and having second thoughts. "Buck up reaper. You don't have to be here the whole night. Just think of Ichigo and what a stupid look he'll have on his face next you see him."

"You're right." Rukia attempted to straighten her posture.

Of course Rukia's appearance to the festival became over shadowed by a different set. Yoruichi showed up minutes later with her own companion. Or rather _companions_. The popular cat-lady seemed to be unable to decide between Kisuke Urahara, and her former subordinate Soi Fon. Needless to say, the two women managed to pull off outfits that put even Rukia's attire to shame.

"Hey Rukia~" Yoruichi greeted the lieutenant of squad 13 with a playful grin as she swept past. On her left arm was Mr. Urahara, and hanging off her right was a delightfully happy Captain Soi Fon.

"You look simply lovely tonight~" Sang Urahara as he tipped his hat to Rukia and Ganju.

"Uh... you as well." Replied Ganju. "I mean- whatever."

This was met with a chorus of giggles, and the threesome went off to cause trouble, leaving Rukia and Ganju to feel much better about their predicament.

Over the next half an hour things seemed to calm down. The two of them still received stares, and unnerving glares, and more often than not they caught at least someone whispering and pointing. Rukia couldn't lie to herself though, despite everything, she actually did have a good time. That is until she locked eyes with her brother. In that moment, the whole world seemed to come to a halt.

By far the most sinful reaction of whole evening was the one expressed by Kuchiki Byakuya himself. The man's cold silver eyes locked onto Rukia's violet ones. She wasn't quite sure when he'd showed up to the festival or how long he'd been there, and she'd secretly been dreading their confrontation. His eyes grew wide when she noticed him, as if he were witnessing Kurosaki's bankai for the first time. At first he didn't seem to move, not a single muscle in his body moved.

Moments passed between them, finally Byakuya's numbness faded and he felt himself bubble over with a mix of anger and something else. Something else won over though, and for the life of him, he was unable to tear his gaze away from the demon wearing Rukia's skin. Unbridled emotion swelled beneath his stoic mask, and threatened to shatter it to shards along with his own sanity. A minute later, the nobleman vanished as if he'd never been present, and was neither seen nor heard from for the entirety of the night, and many nights there after.

It took Renji awhile but he eventually approached Rukia, swallowing his pride and abandoning his less than interested date. The music seemed to dampen a bit when Renji finally stood before Rukia and a very smug Ganju. "R-rukia?" He wasn't quite sure if the female he was addressing tonight was actually the Rukia he knew.

"What's the matter Renji?" Inquired Rukia feeling very satisfied with herself. She knew she was in for a world of trouble later, and the good girl in her wanted to be ashamed. But she just couldn't feel it right now, for once she felt like she had power over Renji, and oh how she would make Kurosaki tremble with regret. "Cat got your tongue?"

Renji's eyes flickered quickly from Rukia to Ganju and back. It didn't take him long to analyze the situation and turn his attention back to the sexy fox before him. "You look.. pretty." The red-head attempted to grapple for words, but failed in the process. "Ya know, pretty forward, and hot. I mean, hot-tempered." He smacked his own forehead knowing he was so obvious.

Rukia chuckled in delight and pulled on Ganju's arm. Ganju, however, swept up the conversational ball this time. "You reapers look so stupid. Look, even the children are staring." He nodded over at a particular white haired captain. His eyes were glued on Rukia and Ganju, but the emotion behind them wasn't recognizable. Unfortunately for him, he was being dragged rather forcefully by a voluptuous soul reaper with strawberry blonde hair, and very full lips.

Rangiku was soon to join the group, bringing an indignant Hitsugaya with her. She didn't seem phased by Rukia's daring appearance at all. While her "date" seemed to mind, Matsumoto was without a care in the world. "Hey guys!" She greeted happily. "My my Rukia," The older woman gesticulated a fanning motion to herself. "You are looking simply _sexy_ this evening. To what, _or whom,_ do we owe this attire?" Her eyes flickered to Ganju, but she didn't seem to think Rukia would dress like that for someone such as a Shiba.

Rukia smiled sheepishly, and brought her eyebrows together. "Oh, just some bonding with Kukaku Shiba, this was her idea after all." The Kuchiki fingered her inappropriate dress idly tugging at the hem.

"Ha!" Ganju elbowed Renji playfully, but with a little more force than necessary. "Aren't I a lucky schmuck? Look at the beautiful chick I scored for tonight. Ain't she something?"

Renji barely choked out a "y-yeah," in response. Words seemed to be failing him right now.

Rangiku interrupted them all and began bubbling to Ganju about how gorgeous Rukia looked, and telling him how lucky he was. This caused Renji's face to turn red in anger, and it was everything he could not to blow up over this. Toshiro kept trying to sneak away, but Matsumoto seemed to be more attentive than she let on, and snatched her captain's collar in a firm grip.

Reluctantly, Hitsugaya gave up escaping and opted for making conversation with Rukia instead. "What's with that get-up?" He inquired nodding towards her dress and raising a brow. His tone was at a level of interrogation. He made no secret that he was eyeing Rukia, figuring she'd already gotten plenty of stares, what were a few more.

"I've got a purpose." Replied the Kuchiki, giving away her underlying agenda.

"If you are pining for Kurosaki's attention, you'll be sorely disappointed." Informed the white-haired captain. "He's not here, and he won't be present."

Rukia gave him a knowing look. "I'm well aware," she informed.

"Well." Toshiro shot her a half-smirk. "I wish you luck, Kuchiki." The tell-tale look in his eyes said that he was aware that she was fishing for something from someone. "You look.. different." It was as close to a compliment as he could muster. If he were to use any of the other words that came to mind, it would be horribly inappropriate for a man of his stature.

"Thanks."

0000

The rest of the evening was spent socializing, dancing, drinking, and causing stirs. Ganju had his work cut out for him. Between accepting compliments about himself and his "date", he was also doing a fair deal of yelling at people who would insult them. And there were no end of insults. Be it about the Kuchiki honor, and mingling with a Shiba, or because of Rukia's daring appearance. One way or another, problems festered throughout the festival.

Rukia shared a couple of dances with Ganju, on principle. Then accepted an awkward dance from Renji, in which he expressed how offended he was that Rukia attended with Ganju instead of him. Shunsui happened to sweep Rukia off for a bit of swing dancing, and it seemed that the presence of the head captain managed to shut up a lot of the gossip. For if the head Captain deemed it decent, then Rukia must not be breaking social protocol that badly, right? Hitsugaya even shared a tentative dance with Rukia, much to the insistence of his own date, Rangiku. In the midst of it all, Rukia indulged in the fine alcohol being passed around. The head captain had really out done himself, even the virgin drinks were secretly spiked.

But eventually, Rukia managed to slip away as she had initially intended from the beginning. She felt a little bad for leaving Ganju there, but she knew he'd manage just fine. He even scored a few dances with several lovely shinigami woman, orihime, and a vizard. But mostly he loved lording his non-existent, self-proclaimed superiority over the male soul reapers.

Renji seemed to be the only one who noticed Rukia's escape. He followed her out of the seireieti and into the Rukon. She wan't quite as sneaky as she was attempting to be, and he let out a forlorn sigh when he watched her disappear through a senkaimon to the Living world.

Despite all his attempts to court his childhood crush, she never reciprocated. She had eyes that were only for one man, and he wasn't even of her world. "Lucky human boy." Captain Abarai muttered under his breath. "No matter what, she always goes running back to you, _Ichigo."_ The red-head took a moment to spit on the ground. He could accept losing to Kurosaki a lot easier than he could losing to Ganju. After the portal closed, Renji leaned back and sighed in defeat. But strangely he wasn't angry anymore.

0000

Ichigo had no clue what was going on this whole time. Instead, he spent the evening slaving over his desk on the last essay of the night. A quick glance at the clock told him it was past midnight, and getting later. He wondered idly to himself if Rukia managed to find a da-_ partner_ to the festival. But brushed away the thoughts when they brought up unnecessary jealousy. Honestly, he felt bad for turning her down.

If his school life had left room to attend the festival, he would have in a heart beat. The chance to show up Renji, and have the woman of his dreams on his arm would have been priceless. An evening with Rukia, almost as if they were _together_. He let out a sigh of irritation at himself.

No use lamenting over something he couldn't fix. If he didn't finish these essays, and score a good grade, he'd never make it through medical school. He decided he'd make it up to Rukia later, maybe take her out somewhere nice.

Ichigo's thoughts became interrupted by the sound of his window sliding open. His attention peeled away from his essay and fixed itself on the woman sliding her way into his bedroom like melted chocolate.

"R-RUKIA?!"

Rukia let out a snort as she settled on Ichigo's bed, her dress riding up rather provocatively. "God, you sound like Renji~." She gave him an almost suggestive smile from her position on the bed.

"Why the hell are you dressed like th-that?!" The orange-head grappled for an explanation and came up with one. "Have you been drinking?"

Rukia seemed to think about his question, for a moment looking up, before sliding her lovely amethyst eyes back to him. "More than I should." She answered slyly. Seeming to decide that her current position was uncomfortable, she instead opted for settling on her knees and sitting back, using her arms to support her.

Ichigo didn't know what to say. He didn't even know where to start, or why Rukia was even here right now. "Why are you here?" He finally choked out.

As if a bucket of cold water had been splashed, Rukia's demeanor and mood changed. She bolted forward and locked eyes with him. Instead of the playfulness he'd seen before, her eyes were filled with rage, a lot of it. She reached out a hand and jabbed him in the chest with enough force to make him wince in pain.

"You are an ASS!" She barked. "This! This was to make you jealous! It makes me so mad that you'd rather write these stupid human essays rather than spend an evening with me!" Ichigo could smell the copious amount of alcohol lingering on her breath as she leaned closer to him.

_Yep, she was pretty intoxicating- uh, intoxicated!_

"I told you this was important." Defended the orange-head. He gestured uselessly at the papers strewn across the top of his desk.

"This is stupid!" Rukia flailed her arm and swept Ichigo's hard work onto the floor. "Why can't I be important too!?" Her anger seemed to dissolve into depression, and she fixed Ichigo with a look of pleading sadness.

Ichigo understood the situation in that moment. By putting his school work first, he'd accidentally made Rukia feel like she was inferior to his human life. He knew she had mixed feelings about her presence. Always struggling with the right and wrongs of being a part of his life. Thinking she was intruding on his humanity, Rukia knew she wasn't part of his world.

"I'm sorry." Ichigo cast his eyes on the ground, trying to banish the images of sexy Rukia, in favor of their conversation. He knew he wasn't going to be able to focus on both.

"Please don't." Whispered the soul reaper in front of him. "It only makes it hurt worse, because I know I shouldn't be jealous of your human obligations. This," She gestured to his essays, "It's important, and I shouldn't try to intrude on it."

"Rukia..." He whispered softly. He brought a hesitant hand up and cradled her cheek. Despite willing himself not to, her let his eyes rake over the woman before him, and appreciate her. And appreciate her he did. The mere sight of her in that dress, how high it hiked up on her thighs, almost exposing her perfect rear. And then there was the way she was bent over, perched on the edge of his bed, leaning into his lap. Her eyes were begging him for something, and it didn't help that her hair was disheveled and clinging to her soft skin.

_Thmp-thmp._ Ichigo's heart beat was sporadic, and he felt a tingling desire dance down his spine, flip-flop magically in his stomach, and ultimately leaving off at his pelvis. The woman in front of him had inhuman power over his body, and plagued his thoughts more often then not.

"Why not me..?" Rukia's soft voice broke their silence and he felt her lean into his hand.

"That's not fair." He growled down to her. "You show up here, late at night, dressed like that?" He stood up from his seat and coaxed Rukia into a proper sitting position on his bed. "Do you realize how hard it was to tell you no the first time?" He dropped to his knees in front of her and pulled her into a tight embrace.

Rukia felt Ichigo's arms wrap around her, and she felt her body press up against his. A feeling of warmth washed over her, and she couldn't help but melt in his arms. Of course a lot of this was probably due to the alcohol, but right now she couldn't care less. She'd found her way to the place she'd wanted to be since the beginning of the night.

"Rukia, why _are_ you here, anyway?"

"I-I needed to see you." She confessed against his chest. In response, she felt his arms tighten a little. "You idiot." Her hands reached up and fisted themselves in his shirt.

The way she was clinging to him sent another assault to his senses. It was everything Ichigo could muster to keep his self control. He refused to make any moves on her while she was intoxicated.

"I-Ichigo?"

"Hmm?" He absently buried his face in her hair, and shamelessly breathed in her scent.

"The night is almost over.. but would you be my last dance?" Her request almost sounded like seduction to his ears, but it was laced with insecurity.

The orange-head before her awkwardly pulled her off the bed and to her feet. Clumsily, he fumbled for her hands, and one hand snaked around her waist. "You know I'm no good at dancing, right?" He joked easily.

"I don't care," she replied back as she rested her head against his shoulder. "Just dance."

He let a short chuckle fall from his lips, "Yes sir."

Neither of them knew how long they danced like that, accompanied by their own music, music that played in their heads. But neither of them complained, enjoying the feel of the other moving with them. Both of them had things they wanted to say, but it was best suited for a different time.

_Heaven, I'm in heaven. And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak._

Ichigo let the classy song play in his mind, accompanying this tender moment.

_And I seem to find the happiness I seek, when we're out together dancing cheek to cheek. Heaven, I'm in heaven, and the cares that hung around me through the week, seem to vanish like a gamblers lucky streak._

He pulled rukia's body closer to his own. The orange-head felt her breath, and could almost feel her heart beat.

_When we're out together dancing cheek to cheek. _

"I can't decide whether you should live or die, oh you'd probably go to heaven... Please don't hang your head and cry."

Ichigo stopped moving and stared down with a surprised look. Apparently the music Rukia was dancing to in her head was very different than his own. _Rukia, what the hell are you singing?_

"Don't wonder why," She continued to sing softly out of tune into Ichigo's chest. She didn't seem to notice that they'd stopped, but it didn't take long for Ichigo to shrug, and continue sweeping her clumsily around the room. "My heart feels dead inside, it's cold and hard and petrified..."

It was with great reluctance awhile later that Rukia lifted her eyes to meet Ichigo's amber ones. Her gaze was half-lidded, and Ichigo knew right away she was exhausted. "You should get some rest." his suggestion was half-hearted as neither of them really wanted the dance to end.

"Mmm.." Mused the short woman in his arms. "As long as I get to sleep in your bed."

Ichigo stopped moving. Her request startled him and he had to blink at her several times. Finally after a few moments he forced words past his lips, his mouth having gone dry moments before. "Anything you want."

Scooping the small girl into his arms, he laid her down on his bed, his gentle fingers caressing her skin. He saw how she struggled to keep her eyes open, but ultimately failed. And it took mere seconds for her eyes to slip closed. Letting himself take in the sight of the woman on his bed, he eventually bent over and pulled a warm blanket up, tucking it beneath her chin. Ichigo only hesitated for half a moment, before leaning down and placing a tender kiss on the side of her cheek. His lips grazing the side of her mouth.

"I'll see you in the morning."

* * *

><p><strong>If you like these one shots, Please R&amp;R. I would very much appreciate it. I put a lot of effort into these, and they are actually exercises I'm doing to help my writing. So feedback would be very helpful to me. <strong>

**Remember I'm also accepting ideas. So feel free to suggest. Thanks, from your author, Saij Spellhart.**


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